Sack Rijiju, order probe

​New Delhi: Calling it “a clear case of misuse of official position,” the Congress and AAP on Tuesday demanded the sacking of Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju after his name and that of his cousin figured in a report of the Chief Vigilance Officer of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) that alleged corruption in the construction of two dams for the Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

Stating that Rijiju's role in the 'Rs 450-crore Arunachal power scam' is under cloud, the Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat".

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also released an audio tape of a purported conversation of his cousin, a contractor in the 600 MW power project, and Rijiju's letter recommending that held up payments be released.

"The role of Kiren Rijiju in this issue is under cloud. Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the Prime Minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete," he told reporters.

Surjewala trained his guns on the Prime Minister saying his "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat" as had happened with several other scandals in the past, including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

"Modi's claims of transparency and honesty are now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue," he said.

Payments were stopped after a letter by the Chief Vigilance Officer of North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), who conducted a probe into the issue, the Congress spokesperson said and alleged that there is a scam to the extent of Rs 450 crore in the form of false and inflated transportation bills by Goboi Rijiju, who is said to be a relative of Kiren Rijiju.

"The Prime Minister in the run up to elections used to say that he will neither do or allow corruption to happen.

But there have been a series of charges of corruption that came to light in the Modi government, be it scams in Rajasthan mining, Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh or Lalit Modi or Vijay Mallya," he said.

Targeting the CBI, Surjewala alleged that the premier investigation agency has become a "puppet" in the hands of the Modi government and has not even registered an FIR in the matter despite a 128-page report by the vigilance officer.

AAP leader Ashish Khetan also called for the sacking of Rijiju who he said was “trying to sweep under the carpet” the alleged power scam in Arunachal Pradesh. “Rijiju should immediately be sacked and the Prime Minister should set up a high-level probe to investigate the matter,” Khetan said.

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and the NEEPCO Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma. The Opposition party claimed it also had a mention of the goings on that led to pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju's brother was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his minister brother's name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

Meanwhile, Gujarat cadre IPS officer Satish Verma, who assisted the CBI in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, has said in a petition before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that his services as the Central Vigilance Officer were curtailed as he had flagged a transportation scam worth Rs 450 crore involving a relative of Kiren Rijiju and also for investigating a fraudulent land deal in Gujarat, say news reports.